Site Mobile Navigation

Traffic Cameras Draw More Scrutiny by States

WASHINGTON — The sudden flash lit up Christian Sevier’s Honda Civic as he drove on New York Avenue here. But it would take a few weeks before the $150 speeding ticket in his mailbox explained what had happened.

He had triggered one of Washington’s traffic cameras, an increasingly common enforcement tool that snapped a photo of his car when it recognized he was speeding. A Freedom of Information Act inquiry by AAA revealed that a single speed camera along that busy thoroughfare had brought in more than $11 million in just two years.

Although Mr. Sevier, 30, uses his car only a few times a week, he has received two more tickets since that first infraction.

“I almost see them as a tax on any citizen in Washington, D.C., who has a car,” he said.

Traffic cameras have spread to 582 communities nationwide to catch those who speed, run red lights or commit other violations. As their use has spread, lawmakers in states that have allowed cities to make decisions about photo enforcement are starting to get involved.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 66 bills related to photo enforcement have been presented nationwide so far in 2013. A few would approve the cameras, citing their safety advantages. Proposals in Arizona, Florida, Iowa and several other states would ban the cameras, joining the 12 states that prohibit speed cameras and the 9 that block red light cameras.

Critics of photo enforcement often paint a picture of government overreach. Though drivers can appeal their tickets, some claim the cameras violate the constitutional right to face their accuser. Others say they are an invasion of privacy.

Many contend that local governments — as well as the companies that manufacture and maintain the equipment, some in exchange for a percentage of the revenue rather than a flat fee — are more interested in money than in safety, pointing to studies indicating that the cameras may actually cause accidents.

Resentment has been building in Washington since 2010, when the mayor at the time, Adrian M. Fenty, raised traffic fines as part of his efforts to balance the budget. The fine for driving 11 to 15 miles per hour over the speed limit went up to $125 from $50, for instance.

“He was very clever and assiduous about squeezing out items that weren’t technically taxes that he could use for revenue,” said Mary M. Cheh, a district councilwoman.

In November, as the City Council held hearings on traffic enforcement, Mayor Vincent C. Gray lowered the fines, saying the changes would make penalties fairer for those with less serious infractions.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

Supporters of photo enforcement point to growing evidence suggesting that traffic cameras curb violations and decrease the number of fatal accidents. One recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported a significant decline in red-light running not only at intersections with cameras a year after the police had started ticketing there, but also at nearby intersections without cameras.

When asked about efforts to strike down a Florida law permitting traffic cameras, Melissa Wandall, president of the National Coalition for Safer Roads, said a recent survey showed that 56 percent of Florida communities that responded reported fewer crashes at intersections with cameras.

On a fall evening in 2003, when a driver ran a red light and slammed into the car carrying Ms. Wandall’s husband, killing him instantly, she stood at the crash site, nine months pregnant, and vowed to find meaning in the tragedy.

Ms. Wandall, 45, worked with her congressman on the Florida law authorizing red light cameras, which bore her husband’s name when the governor signed the legislation, the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program, in 2010. A portion of each ticket goes to medical centers.

“The program is doing so many great things that I don’t see how they can get rid of them,” she said.

Anne T. McCartt, an official at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said that while traffic cameras are a contentious issue, opposition is not as strong as some claim. An institute study of drivers in 14 cities with red light cameras — including Phoenix, Chicago and Raleigh, N.C. — found that two-thirds supported their use.

“I think there is a vocal minority in these communities that focus a lot of attention on this issue,” Ms. McCartt said.

In Washington, officials plan to add to the district’s current 90 traffic cameras. Since it started using speed cameras in 2001, Washington has had a 73 percent decrease in traffic deaths, said Gwendolyn Crump, a police spokeswoman.